Spare tire and wheel carrier

ABSTRACT

A spare tire and wheel carrier for a pickup truck, camper and the like which includes a transverse member having a pair of angled tire clamping shoulder portions. A hanger means is disposed at each of said transverse member and it has a lower end pivotally connected to the transverse member and an upper end fixed to the frame of the vehicle. The carrier includes a center supporting arm which has its inner end secured to the transverse member and means for releasably securing the center arm to the vehicle frame.

United States Patent 1191 Hrivnyak Feb. 5, 1974 [54] SPARE TIRE ANDWHEEL CARRIER 3,650,424 3/1972 Dumas 214/454 [76] Inventor: gigg g- 1 5Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza y, le

Assistant Exammer-John Manmx [22] Filed: June 7, 19 Attorney, Agent, orFirmRobert G. Mentag [21] Appl. No.: 260,425

[57] ABSTRACT 52 us. 01. 214/454, 224/4221 A spare for a PikUP truckcamper and the l1ke.wh1ch includes a transverse mem- [51] Int. Cl B62d43/00 bet havin a air ofan 16 d tire clam in shoulder on [58] Field ofSearch 214/451, 452, 453, 454; g P g P g P tions. A hanger means 15d1sp0sed at each of said 224/4223, 42.21, 42.06

transverse member and it has a lower end pivotally connected to thetransverse member and an upper end [56] References cued N S fixed to theframe of the vehicle. The carrier includes UNITED STATES PATE T a centersupporting arm which has its inner end se- 2,645,394 7/1953 D6 BOI'd214/454 red to the transversemember and means for releas- 2,449,5449/1948 Ballard 224 4223 ably securing the center arm to the vehicleframa 3,620,396 ll/l9 7l Abfalter 214/454 3,718,226 2/1973 Penley214/454 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SPARE TIRE AND WHEEL CARRIER SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a tire and wheel carrier forvehicles such as pickup trucks, campers, mobile homes and the like.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to provide pickup trucks,campers, mobile homes and other vehicles with a spare tire and wheelcarrier which is disposed in a position under the vehicle which makes itdifficult to remove a tire and wheel from a carrier, and also to load atire and wheel onto the carrier. Many of such prior art tire and wheelcarriers are mounted in a position beneath the rear end of the vehicleframe, and they are attached to the vehicle frame in such a manner thata great effort is required to be exerted from an awkward position underthe vehicle to load a tire onto the carrier and to unload a tiretherefrom. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved spare tire and wheel carrier whichovercomes the disadvantages of the prior art spare tire and wheelcarriers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a spare tireand wheel carrier which is simple and compact in construction,economical to manufacture and efficient in operation. I

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sparetire and wheel carrier for a pickup truck, camper, mobile home and likevehicles which has a vehicle supporting frame, and which carriercomprises a transverse cross member. The transverse cross memberincludes a central horizontal portion, an upwardly and outwardly slopingtire clamping shoulder portion integrally formed on each of the outerends of said central portion, and a horizontal end portion integrallyformed on the outer end of each of the sloping tire clamping shoulderportions. The carrier further ineludes a longitudinal center arm whichhas its inner end secured to the transverse cross member at a centralpoint thereon. A hanger means is disposed at each of the transversecross member end portions and has a lower end pivotally connected to theadjacent end portion, and an upper end fixed to the vehicle frame. Ameans is operatively mounted on the vehicle for releasable lockingengagement with the longitudinalcenter arm for retaining a'spare tireand wheel in a position locked between the vehicle frame and thelongitudinal center arm and the tire clamping shoulder portions of thetransverse cross member. For extra heavy tires, the longitudinal centerarm may be provided with an upwardly sloping tire clamping portion.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel andimproved spare tire and wheel carrier for a pickup truck, camper, mobilehome and like vehicles which includes a transverse cross member that isprovided with upwardly sloping tire clamping portions that are adaptedto engage tires of varying diameters and hold all of such varyingdiameter tires in a solid locked position against the underside of avehicle frame.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will beapparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, andthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of aspare tire and wheel carrier made in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, withparts broken away, taken'along the line 22 thereof, and looking in thedirection of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, elevational, section view of the structureillustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 33 thereof, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is afragmentary, enlarged, elevational, section view of thestructure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 44 thereof, andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged, elevational, section view of thestructure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 5-5 thereof, andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, elevational view of a modified embodimentwherein a winch is employed instead of a chain for securing the carriermember to a vehicle frame.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiments of FIGS. 1through 5.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a second embodiment ofthe invention, and showing the longitudinal center arm provided with anupwardly sloping tire clamping portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsand in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numerals l0 and 11 generallydesignate the usual, spaced apart, longitudinal vehicle frame memberswhich form 'a truck frame or the like, and which are illustrated asbeing channel shaped in cross section. The numeral 12 generallydesignates a conventional transverse vehicle angle frame member whichhas its ends slidably mounted within the longitudinal channel members 10and 11 and which is secured thereto by any suitable means, as bywelding. The angle iron frame member 12 is disposed forwardly from therear end of the channels 10 and 11. The numeral 13 generally designatesa conventional transverse vehicle frame channel member which is disposedat the rear ends of the longitudinal channels 10 and 11 and which hasits ends slidably mounted within the channel members l0 and 11 andsecured thereto by any suitable means, as by welding.

The numeral 14 generally designates a spare tire and wheel for avehicle, such as a pickup truck, which is adapted to be held in thesolid position shown-in FIG.

l for transportation purposes. The numeral 14a in FIG.

1 shows the spare tire and wheel in broken lines in a lowered positionwhere it may be loaded onto or unloaded from the spare tire and wheelcarrier of the present invention.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 7, the spare tire and wheel carrier ofthe present invention include a channel shaped transversely extendedsupporting cross frame member generally indicated by the numeral 15,which has its end operatively attached to the longitudinal channelmembers 10 and 11, as more fully explained hereinafter. The transverseframe member 15 is stamped from sheet metal, although it will beunderstood that it could be formed from any other material and it can bemade to other shapes, as for example-a solid bar.

The transverse frame member 15. includes a central elongated portion 16,which has a flat upper surface, and to the ends of which are integrallyformed a pair of upwardly and outwardly sloping tire clamping shoulderportions 17. Integrally formed on the outer end of each of the slopingshoulder portions 17 is an outer horizontal attachment end portion 18which has a flat upper surface that is a continuation of the flat uppersurfaces of the adjacent sloping shoulder 17 and the intermediateportion 16. In one embodiment, the transverse frame member 15 had anintermediate portion 16 which was approximately twelve inches in length,with the sloping shoulder portions 17 being approximately eight inchesin length and the outer end portions 18 being approximately one andthree-quarters inches in length. The upper surface of each of thesloping shoulder portions 17 angles upwardly from the flat surface ofthe central or intermediate portion 16 at a slight clamping angle, asfor example, from an angle in the range of from about three degrees upto and including eight degrees. A preferable angle is about fivedegrees.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the horizontal end portions 18 of thetransverse frame member 15 are pivotally mounted relative to the lowerflange 22 of the longitudinal channel members and 11. As shown in FIG.4, each of the end portions 18 has a vertically disposed aperture 19through which is extended a hanger bolt 20. The bolt 20 extends upwardlythrough a suitable aperture 21 formed through the flange 22. Each of thehanger bolts 20 is fixedly secured to its respective flange 22 by a pairof suitable washers 23 and lock nuts 24. The apertures or holes 19 areenlarged to permit the transverse frame member to be pivoted on theheads of the hanger bolts about the longitudinal axis of the framemember 15 so as to permit loading and unloading of a tire and wheel, asdescribed more fully hereinafter.

As best seen in FIG. 7, the spare tire and wheel carrier of the presentinvention includes a longitudinal center arm 26 which may be madefromany suitable material. The illustrative center arm 26 ischannelshaped in cross section, and it is preferably stamped from asuitable sheet metal material.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 7, the inner end of the longitudinalcenter arm 26 is fixedly secured to a flat central area on thetransverse frame member 15 by a plurality of machine screws 27 and nuts28. It will be understood that the longitudinal center arm 26 may alsobe secured to the transverse frame member 15 by other suitable means, asby rivets, or as by being welded thereto. The use of machine screws andnuts permits the carrier of the present invention to be sold indisassembled form .for easy packaging in small containers so as toreduce storage and transportation charges.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the longitudinal center arm 26 is providedwith a T-shaped chain slot 29 which is disposed adjacent the outer endof the center arm. The longitudinal center arm 26 is also provided witha U-shaped chain locking slot 31 on the extreme outer end thereof, in aposition adjacent the T-shaped slot 29.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a suitable chain is provided for retaining thelongitudinal center arm 26 in a raised, operative position. One end ofthe chain 30 is secured by any suitable means, as by the chain mountingbolt 38 to a central point on the transverse member 13 on the rear endof the vehicle frame. The lower end of the chain 30 extends downwardlythrough the T- shaped slot 29 and then upwardly through the U- shapedslot 31. A suitable key operated lock 32 is employed for locking thechain 30 in the operative position shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, and the partsthereof which correspond to the parts of the first embodiment of FIGS. 1through 5 have been marked with the same reference numerals followed bythe smaller letter b. In the embodiment of FIG. 6 the chain 30 hasbeenreplaced by a suitable hand operated cable winch.

In FIG. 6 the cable winch is generally indicated by the numeral 35, andit is operatively mounted on a transverse mounting member 36 which isfixedly mounted on the vehicle frame. transverse member 13b. The winchcable 33 has its free end operatively connected by a suitable mountingbolt 34 to the outer end of the longitudinal carrier center arm 26b. Thewinch 35 is manually operated by a removable winch handle 37.

The use of the spare tire and wheel carrier of the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 1. The spare tire 14 of FIG. 1 can be unloaded bymerely removing the lock 32 and the free end of the chain 30 from theouter end of the longitudinal center arm 26. The longitudinal center arm26 is then pivoted downwardly by gravity to the broken line position26a, whereby the tire 14 may then be quickly and easily slid to theunloaded position designated by the numeral 14a. In order to load thetire back onto the carrier it is merely necessary to slide the sameupwardly onto the carrier with the inner end of the tire extended beyondthe transverse member 15. The weight of the tire extended forward beyondthe transverse member 15 counterbalances the carrier and makes it easierto manually lift the longitudinal center arm 26 and again raise it tothe solid line position shown in FIG. 1. The chain 30 is then againinserted through the slots 29 and 31 and the lock 32 put in position tosecure the chain in place.

The winch retaining structure of FIG. 6 would be operated in a similarmanner except that the longitudinal center arm 26b would be raised andlowered by manually rotating the crank handle 37. An advantage of thewinch operated structure of FIG. 6 is that it is easier to load andunload heavier tires as, for example, tires for three-quarter and oneton pickup trucks and the like. The structure of FIG. 6 also permits theoperator to make smaller adjustments or movements of-the longitudinalcenter arm 26b for securing the tire against the vehicle frame.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational-view of a second embodiment of theinvention for use with heavy tires. The parts of the embodiment of FIG.8 which are the same as the parts of the first described embodiment ofFIGS. 1-5 have been marked with the same reference numerals followed bythe small letter b.

The embodiment of FIG. 8 is the same as the first embodiment of FIGS. 1through 5, with the exception that the longitudinal center arm 26b hasbeen provided with an upwardly sloping tire clamping shoulder portion.The numeral 39 indicates the main body portion of the longitudinalcenter arm 26b which is provided with an integral and upwardly andoutwardly sloping tire clamping portion 40 adjacent the rear or outerend I thereof. An extreme end portion 41 is integrally formed on therear end of the tire clamping portion 40. The upper surfaces of thecenter arm portions 39 and 41 would be substantially flat and parallelwith each other. The tire clamping shoulder portion 40 of the structureof FIG. 8 would securely clamp a heavy tire against the bottom of avehicle frame to prevent the tire from sliding, and especially when thecenter arm 26b is being moved upwardly to the locked position.

It will be understood that the holes 21 for the hanger bolts 20 arenormally present in many vehicle frames. However, if they are notalready available, they may be quickly and easily formed by any suitablemeans.

it will be understood that hanger bolts 20 of various lengths may beused for adjusting the distance between the transverse frame member andthe underside of the vehicle frame for holding tires of various sizes.The last mentioned distance may also be adjusted by adjusting theposition of the hanger bolt relative to the nuts 24.

It will be understood that the spare tire and wheel carrier of thepresent invention may be used for carrying tires of various sizes. Thesloping shoulders 17 provide a means wherein tires of varying diametersmay be carried on the same size carriers, since it is only necessary tomove the tire longitudinal of the carrier, as required, so as to make itseat properly on the sloping shoulders 17 for clamping engagementagainst the underside of the vehicle frame when the carrier is swungupwardly to the solid line.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objectsabove state, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change.

What I claim is:

1. In a spare tire and wheel carrier for a vehicle having a supportingframe, the combination comprising:

a. a transversely disposed supporting cross member having a centralelongated horizontal portion, an upwardly and outwardly sloping tireclamping shoulder portion integrally formed on each of the outer ends ofsaid central portion, and a horizontal end portion integrally formed onthe outer end of each of the sloping tire clamping shoulder portions; b.said central horizontal portion having a flat upper surface, each ofsaid sloping tire clamping portions having a flat upper surface which isa continuation of the flat upper surface of the central portion, andeach of said sloping portion flat surfaces angles up- I wardly from theHat surface of the central portion at an acute angle from the plane ofthe central portion flat surface;

0. a longitudinally disposed center supporting arm having its inner endsecured to the transverse cross member at a central point thereof;

d. a hanger means disposed at each of said transverse cross member endportions and having a lower end pivotally connected to the adjacent endportion and an upper end fixed to the vehicle supporting frame; and,

e. means operatively mounted on said vehicle for releasable lockingengagement with said longitudinal center arm for retaining a spare tireand wheel in a position locked and clamped between the vehiclesupporting frame and the longitudinal center arm and the flat uppersurface of the sloping tire clamping shoulder portions of the transversecross member.

2. The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1, wherein:

a. said means for locking engagement with said longitudinal center armcomprises a chain having one end attached to said vehicle supportingframe and the other end releasably locked to the outer end of saidlongitudinal center arm.

3. The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1, wherein: I

a. said means for locking engagement with said longitudinal center armcomprises a winch operatively mounted on said vehicle frame and having awinch cable secured to the outer end of said longitudinal center arm.

4. The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1, wherein: i

a. each of said hanger means includes a hanger bolt having an upper endfixed to said vehicle frame and a lower end pivotally connected to saidrespective cross member end portion.

5. The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1, wherein:

a. said longitudinal center arm is provided with an upwardly andoutwardly. sloping tire clamping 4 shoulder portion formed on the outerend thereof.

1. In a spare tire and wheel carrier for a vehicle having a supportingframe, the combination comprising: a. a transversely disposed supportingcross member having a central elongated horizontal portion, an upwardlyand outwardly sloping tire clamping shoulder portion integrally formedon each of the outer ends of said central portion, and a horizontal endportion integrally formed on the outer end of each of the sloping tireclamping shoulder portions; b. said central horizontal portion having aflat upper surface, each of said sloping tire clamping portions having aflat upper surface which is a continuation of the flat upper surface ofthe central portion, and each of said sloping portion flat surfacesangles upwardly from the flat surface of the central portion at an acuteangle from the plane of the central portion flat surface; c. alongitudinally disposed center supporting arm having its inner endsecured to the transverse cross member at a central point thereof; d. ahanger means disposed at each of said transverse cross member endportions and having a lower end pivotally connected to the adjacent endportion and an upper end fixed to the vehicle supporting frame; and, e.means operatively mounted on said vehicle for releasable lockingengagement with said longitudinal center arm for retaining a spare tireand wheel in a position locked and clamped between the vehiclesupporting frame and the longitudinal center arm and the flat uppersurface of the sloping tire clamping shoulder portions of the transversecross member.
 2. The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1,wherein: a. said means for locking engagement with said longitudinalcenter arm comprises a chain having one end attached to said vehiclesupporting frame and the other end releasably locked to the outer end ofsaid longitudinal center arm.
 3. The spare tire and wheel carrierdefined in claim 1, wherein: a. said means for locking engagement withsaid longitudinal center arm comprises a winch operatively mounted onsaid vehicle frame and having a winch cable secured to the outer end ofsaid longitudinal center arm.
 4. The spare tire and wheel carrierdefined in claim 1, wherein: a. each of said hanger means includes ahanger bolt having an upper end fixed to said vehicle frame and a lowerend pivotally connected to said respective cross member end portion. 5.The spare tire and wheel carrier defined in claim 1, wherein: a. saidlongitudinal center arm is provided with an upwardly and outwardlysloping tire clamping shoulder portion formed on the outer end thereof.